This is a long one, but here's the Crossbell Duology Retrospective. I will admit, these reviews definitely did stand on their own a bit more than the Sky reviews, however this was the original plan so here it is. This is even longer than the Sky Trilogy video lol, but I am so proud of how this turned out. That said, if you liked this video and would like to help support me, there's my Patreon and KoFi in the description. It'd really help a lot. Thanks so much everyone. 🙂
I really liked the Crossbell duology! Zero being almost a crime centered story really spoke to me (I almost studied criminology) and to figure out all the layers hidden behind your tiny skirmish between two gangs of punks Downtown. Having a more "mature" cast really helped me connect with these characters too more than the school kids of Cold Steel or the coming of age story of Sky, though I know I may be in the minority here 😅 Great reviews again!
I'm 80 hs in playing Cold Steel IV and i'm in the Pantagruel speaking with so many characters from past games that i haven't played, i'm missing so much on the story.
I will definitely play them, maybe after CS IV, but this games are not only very long, they are really text heavy games, like reading a collection of books, Zemurian lore is huge.
Reminder there is a discord at the bottom of the video description. If you liked the video, please leave a like, comment, etc for the good ol' algorithm lol. Would seriously help a lot :) We also already have a lot of Trails nerds in the server so feel free to nerd out in there :)
At the end of your retrospective you mention how playing Cold Steel without Crossbell would be a very different experience and I have to say I had an extremely rare experience myself. I first heard of Sky FC and Cold Steel 1 about the same time and luckily went with Sky and played the entire trilogy over the course of a few years. Then I jumped into Cold Steel, not knowing Crossbell was a thing and before Geofront released Zero's translation. Here's where it was interesting... I played FAR into Cold Steel. Right up until that point where you hear about the events in Crossbell.... Only I DIDN'T. I heard about the Crossbell arc and thought maybe I should look into that without going forward. So I stopped Cold Steel. I played the Geofront Zero mod and loved it thoroughly. I knew Azure was being worked on, but being impatient I went through the arduous process of buying Azure from the Chinese storefront and played the "perfectly serviceable" translation (it was not). I was blown away even despite the many issues where I had to elucidate the meanings in the script for myself. After that insane story ended (and omg that stressed me out in a way no other game has ever made me feel), I started Cold Steel up again... Not 2 min into loading my save did the game start with the crazy news flash that Crossbell is going through a crisis. This was all unplanned. I had no idea, no one told me to stop and go to Crossbell, this was purely me reading up on the Trails series as a whole and my first noticing the mention of Geofront. Sorry, this got very long, but it was such a chilling (but amazing) moment in my Trails experience purely because my likely unique progression in the series.
Thank you! Uh, it depends on what you are looking for. I think the Tales of series has a lot of those anime vibes, but they can sometimes be a bit obtuse at first but are pretty peak by the end. Shining Force III is a personal favorite, but it's old and hard to play these days. But yeah this is my favorite series. Not many like it.
@@GenmaTheSamurai I'm almost done with Trails from Zero and ready to dive into azure. I tried playing sea of stars and other JRPGs, but trails series has made it tough to get into other JRPGs
Wow, I didn't know KSK had passed, that sucks. The Crossbell duology are the last good Trails games in terms of writing imho, and even then, Azure isn't completely devoid of some of the writing fumbles that would eventually go on to permeate the Cold Steel arc. Such a shame, I used to hold this series in such high regard.
I understand that, personally I like all of the games in this series, and I actually have a lot to gush about now that I am actually replaying CS1. But yeah, I also like anime, and I keep in mind that even the worst of the series does a lot of things better than it's peers. I'm not really looking to debate which of us is right because I find that discourse kind of tiring, but I respect your take. I just STRONGLY disagree imo that everything from Azure onwards is bad.
@@GenmaTheSamurai I wouldn't say everything from Azure onwards is bad, just that it is worse compared to what came before. I'm only talking about the story and writing, I much prefer the gameplay of the modern games, because I found the crafts in the Sky games incredibly boring and uninspired.
I mean, last good one carries that implication lmao but yeah fair I guess :) But for sure, the combat is crazy fun. I won't spoil my exact thoughts, but I think the next video will be a lot of fun.
There is a discord in the description yup :) Though I might be busy today slamming out more of CS1 since I've reached the final chapter, BUT you're welcome. We already have Trails nerds there lol.
This is a long one, but here's the Crossbell Duology Retrospective. I will admit, these reviews definitely did stand on their own a bit more than the Sky reviews, however this was the original plan so here it is. This is even longer than the Sky Trilogy video lol, but I am so proud of how this turned out.
That said, if you liked this video and would like to help support me, there's my Patreon and KoFi in the description. It'd really help a lot. Thanks so much everyone. 🙂
I really liked the Crossbell duology! Zero being almost a crime centered story really spoke to me (I almost studied criminology) and to figure out all the layers hidden behind your tiny skirmish between two gangs of punks Downtown.
Having a more "mature" cast really helped me connect with these characters too more than the school kids of Cold Steel or the coming of age story of Sky, though I know I may be in the minority here 😅
Great reviews again!
we got over the barrier
I recently found your channel and I truly appreciate the amount of effort you are putting into creating Trails content.
Azure honestly has my favorite orbment system
Can't wait to see you cover Cold Steel next, hope your finals went well!
You deserve thousands of more subscribers!!! Great job here!
Awesome video! Always glad to see more trails love!
I'm 80 hs in playing Cold Steel IV and i'm in the Pantagruel speaking with so many characters from past games that i haven't played, i'm missing so much on the story.
I'd say to go back and play the older ones because they're really good? But yeah not sure you need me saying that at this point 😅💀
I will definitely play them, maybe after CS IV, but this games are not only very long, they are really text heavy games, like reading a collection of books, Zemurian lore is huge.
Reminder there is a discord at the bottom of the video description. If you liked the video, please leave a like, comment, etc for the good ol' algorithm lol. Would seriously help a lot :)
We also already have a lot of Trails nerds in the server so feel free to nerd out in there :)
Amazing
At the end of your retrospective you mention how playing Cold Steel without Crossbell would be a very different experience and I have to say I had an extremely rare experience myself.
I first heard of Sky FC and Cold Steel 1 about the same time and luckily went with Sky and played the entire trilogy over the course of a few years. Then I jumped into Cold Steel, not knowing Crossbell was a thing and before Geofront released Zero's translation.
Here's where it was interesting... I played FAR into Cold Steel. Right up until that point where you hear about the events in Crossbell.... Only I DIDN'T. I heard about the Crossbell arc and thought maybe I should look into that without going forward. So I stopped Cold Steel.
I played the Geofront Zero mod and loved it thoroughly. I knew Azure was being worked on, but being impatient I went through the arduous process of buying Azure from the Chinese storefront and played the "perfectly serviceable" translation (it was not). I was blown away even despite the many issues where I had to elucidate the meanings in the script for myself.
After that insane story ended (and omg that stressed me out in a way no other game has ever made me feel), I started Cold Steel up again...
Not 2 min into loading my save did the game start with the crazy news flash that Crossbell is going through a crisis. This was all unplanned. I had no idea, no one told me to stop and go to Crossbell, this was purely me reading up on the Trails series as a whole and my first noticing the mention of Geofront.
Sorry, this got very long, but it was such a chilling (but amazing) moment in my Trails experience purely because my likely unique progression in the series.
@@Naticus105 that's actually super cool haha. Thank you for sharing that. At least nothing major seemed to be spoiled which is my main concern. 😅
Yeah I wanted to keep it as vague as possible and leave it as a IYKYK sorta reference. 🙂
Great video. Have you found other JRPGs as good as trails series?
Thank you! Uh, it depends on what you are looking for.
I think the Tales of series has a lot of those anime vibes, but they can sometimes be a bit obtuse at first but are pretty peak by the end.
Shining Force III is a personal favorite, but it's old and hard to play these days.
But yeah this is my favorite series. Not many like it.
@@GenmaTheSamurai I'm almost done with Trails from Zero and ready to dive into azure. I tried playing sea of stars and other JRPGs, but trails series has made it tough to get into other JRPGs
the evo games are the ones kea created whe she reseted the universe
Wow, I didn't know KSK had passed, that sucks.
The Crossbell duology are the last good Trails games in terms of writing imho, and even then, Azure isn't completely devoid of some of the writing fumbles that would eventually go on to permeate the Cold Steel arc. Such a shame, I used to hold this series in such high regard.
I understand that, personally I like all of the games in this series, and I actually have a lot to gush about now that I am actually replaying CS1. But yeah, I also like anime, and I keep in mind that even the worst of the series does a lot of things better than it's peers.
I'm not really looking to debate which of us is right because I find that discourse kind of tiring, but I respect your take. I just STRONGLY disagree imo that everything from Azure onwards is bad.
@@GenmaTheSamurai I wouldn't say everything from Azure onwards is bad, just that it is worse compared to what came before. I'm only talking about the story and writing, I much prefer the gameplay of the modern games, because I found the crafts in the Sky games incredibly boring and uninspired.
I mean, last good one carries that implication lmao but yeah fair I guess :)
But for sure, the combat is crazy fun. I won't spoil my exact thoughts, but I think the next video will be a lot of fun.
@@GenmaTheSamurai Yeas! By the way, is there a way for me to talk to you in private somewhere? Discord or something? Would love to chat more.
There is a discord in the description yup :) Though I might be busy today slamming out more of CS1 since I've reached the final chapter, BUT you're welcome. We already have Trails nerds there lol.